The present invention is generally related to credit cards, and more particularly, to a secure property system which prevents the use of counterfeit credit cards and other documents.
In the past, various credit card structures and schemes have been proposed for preventing or avoiding fraud involving credit card transactions or the like. The types of fraud most often encountered may be categorized into two groups:
1. Credit card alteration, duplication and counterfeiting; and
2. Unauthorized use of a valid credit card, as in the case of a lost or stolen card.
The problems presented by unauthorized use have been alleviated to some extent through the use of personal identification procedures and insurance programs which limit the liability of the card owner.
On the other hand, it has proven more difficult to cope with credit card alteration and counterfeiting. The problem may become more serious as criminal elements continue to improve upon counterfeiting techniques, such as "skimming", which can be used to produce counterfeits both quickly and inexpensively. Cards are used more and more each day for transactions such as retail purchases, auto rentals, travel expenses, cash dispensing, and, most recently, electronic funds transfer. Many of these transactions involve large sums of money which presents an even greater inducement for criminal elements to counterfeit credit cards to defraud merchants and the like. It has been apparent that if the use of credit cards and like documents is to continue to grow in the business world, an adequate solution must be provided to this problem.
In recent years, credit card structures have been proposed with invisible codes or the like, which are used to distinguish counterfeits from authentic cards. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,468,046 issued to MAKISHAMA et al discloses a card structure bearing normally invisible indicia which may be read under ultraviolet light. The indicia includes the card holder's signature which may be compared by the merchant with the customer's signed receipt or existing account records. This provides some degree of assurance that the person presenting the card is the true owner. However, it would not be difficult for a forger to duplicate the signature or to produce counterfeit cards by selecting appropriate filter material and fluorescent signature panels.
The use of infrared reflection and transmission for secrecy purposes has also been proposed. U.S. Pat. No. 3,829,660, issued to A. Furahashi, discloses a computer information card structure containing infrared reflective areas defined by adjacent IR absorbent ink, or alternately infrared transmissive holes. The ink and holes are concealed against visible detection by light top and bottom laminates of opaque material. This patent does not address itself specifically to the question of credit card security but rather computer card secrecy. If, in fact, the teachings were applied to credit cards, such would not provide a high degree of security as counterfeiting would merely involve dismantling of the card laminates to reveal the ink or holes which define the data.
U.S. Reissue Pat. RE No. 28,081 in the name of J. E. Travioli discloses a credit card structure including a pattern of infrared radiation transmitting holes. The hole pattern is read and resultant signals which identify the card are used to check the account's credit status through a central processor. The patent is not directed to the use of the infrared radiation pattern to determine the authenticity of the card. Furthermore, the card structure is such that a counterfeiter could easily reproduce the hole pattern by the use of data gained by disassembling the card.